Sick bay, also spelled sickbay and also known as a medbay, medical bay, medical center, or medical wing, was a room or area on a starship where the sick and injured were healed. It was similar to a medcenter or a hospital. Sick bays could be found on both military and civilian vessels, and in some instances in non-mobile bases, throughout thousands of years of galactic history. They were often furnished with hospital beds and bacta tanks, and they could be staffed by sentients and medical droids alike. The sick bay aboard the medical frigateRedemption also included ammonia chambers, where species that breathed ammonia could recuperate after prolonged exposure to oxygen.

Sick bays[6] were distinguished from medical frigates, which were vessels dedicated primarily to the transportation and care of the wounded and convalescent, and which were primarily staffed by medical personnel.[12] Contrarily, sick bays were usually limited to smaller areas aboard non-medical starships, such as a single room[4] or wing. The latter was the case with the Jedi Order'sChu'unthortraining ship, which housed a medical wing[9] composed of dozens of healing and hospital rooms. Their purpose was to teach Jedi trainees healing arts which they could then use to aid the physically and mentally impaired.[13] Nevertheless, the medical frigate Redemption[10] included a sick bay.[11]Eyrie Base, a Rebel Alliance base on the planet Karatha, housed a sick bay despite being a non-mobile location.[2]

Sick bays have appeared in a wide variety of Star Wars multimedia, referred to by varying names including sickbay and medbay.[2][4][6] In real life, sick bay is a nautical term dating back to the days of sail. As there were relatively few places on shore where ill seamen could be treated, most ships had sick berths located in the vessel's stern. The name "sick bay" was derived from the stern's rounded contours, which suggested the shape of a bay.[18]Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines sick bay as "a compartment in a ship used as a dispensary and hospital," and, more broadly, "a place for the care of the sick or injured."[19] For example, the United States Navy'sUSS Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the entire world, includes a sick bay in the fore of the vessel's berth deck that was historically used to treat sailors injured in battle and by various maladies.[20]